1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pellet dispenser for dental purposes, and particularly to a dispenser comprising a housing having at least one dispensing aperture and means for pressing individual pellets out of the dispensing aperture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In dental treatment, a large number of pellets are required to dab or remove blood, saliva or the like from the oral cavity. The pellets typically are wads of cotton or small foam bodies which are seized with an instrument such as pincers or tweezers and applied to the site to be dried. After use, the pellets are thrown away.
It is important that the dentist always have available a sufficient quantity of pellets. The pellets should be supplied individually by the dispenser, so that the dentist easily can pick up a single pellet with his instrument. Preferably the pellets should be offered so that they may be removed from the dispenser with one hand. During treatment, the dentist is constantly trying to keep the dental area dry and free of saliva. If he must pay too much attention to the dispenser operation so as to remove a pellet, the dried area may again fill with saliva or blood.
A pellet dispenser must be so constructed that the dentist, when removing a single pellet by pincers, touches only the corresponding pellet. If several pellets are touched, they may be infected by the pincers. This is why the pellets may not be stored in an open condition, for instance in a cup. Moreover, with open storage, the risk of airborne bacterial infection is great.
Pellet dispensers are known in which a spring biased pressure plate is provided within a casing. The plate presses the pellets against a discharge opening. Such springs cannot be sterilized in a hot air sterilizer, so that it is difficult to make such dispensers sterile. Moreover, the spring is a mechanical element which may cause jamming, and the spring pressure may vary depending on how full is the dispenser.
It is the object of the invention to provide a pellet dispenser of the type disclosed, which permits the safe removal of individual pellets with one hand only, and which is sterilizable as a whole in a simple manner.